Wow, a couple people here have a serious vendetta against digital radio.
I agree that a proprietary and royalty ridden standard shouldn't have been approved by the FCC. But it is here and it really kicks ass for some people. True, it needs more power and bandwidth to be allocated to the digital simulcast, but it already works flawlessly in some areas. For instance, my clock radio/alarm, morning shower radio, and car radio all function flawlessly. I really enjoy the local news, sports, and BBC news on digital radio.
If apple can negotiate a good licensing contract, it would make sense as a why not feature. Enough people would use it were it available. It just has to be cheap.
Edit:
Emergency radio would also be a cool why not feature. Broadcast radio is far more reliable after natural disasters.
HD Radio was one of Microsoft's main selling points of the Zune HD, the portable media player that the Redmond, Wash., software giant hoped to position against Apple's industry leading iPod touch.
"Windows Phone 7 Series"
"It seems the stunning Zune HD interface was something of a trial run for the new Windows Phone 7 Series software... It is also understood that Microsoft is stipulating all phones must also include an FM radio tuner."
[QUOTE=dfiler;1655674]Wow, a couple people here have a serious vendetta against digital radio.QUOTE]
"Radio: High Deception"
"The HD Digital Radio Alliance capo Peter ?Sgt. Bilk-o? Ferrara proclaimed his planted tale to be a sign that Steve Jobs was essentially endorsing HD Radio. In reality, he wanted his latest fabrication to spread to the mainstream press. It didn?t."
Wow, a couple people here have a serious vendetta against digital radio.
I agree that a proprietary and royalty ridden standard shouldn't have been approved by the FCC. But it is here and it really kicks ass for some people.
Except that neither of those two people has actually shown any proof that there are high royalties for HD Radio. One had a link to an article from 2007 that speculated that licensing was $50 per device but provided no real evidence or reliable source. I can't remember if it was the same article or another they linked to that said that it was expensive for radio stations to upgrade to HD (shocking, upgrading to new technology is expensive ) and that there was a licensing fee involved. No actual figures on what that licensing fee is.
I have an HD Radio receiver in my car and love it. There are quite a few HD Radio channels in my area and it only seems to be expanding. As an added bonus, the separate receiver gets much better reception than the stereo by itself.
Wow, a couple people here have a serious vendetta against digital radio.QUOTE]
"Radio: High Deception"
"The HD Digital Radio Alliance capo Peter ?Sgt. Bilk-o? Ferrara proclaimed his planted tale to be a sign that Steve Jobs was essentially endorsing HD Radio. In reality, he wanted his latest fabrication to spread to the mainstream press. It didn?t."
what's your point? That apple shouldn't include a technology because some other company chose a deceptive name?
I agree that the term HD radio is deceptive. Perhaps you missed the fact that I purposefully referred to it as digital radio rather than HD radio in my post. Go to avs forums and check out my tyraid on the subject. I've been one of the most vocal critics of the HD radio moniker.
But the name has no bearing on whether apple should include it as a feature.
Except that neither of those two people has actually shown any proof that there are high royalties for HD Radio. One had a link to an article from 2007 that speculated that licensing was $50 per device but provided no real evidence or reliable source. I can't remember if it was the same article or another they linked to that said that it was expensive for radio stations to upgrade to HD (shocking, upgrading to new technology is expensive ) and that there was a licensing fee involved. No actual figures on what that licensing fee is.
I have an HD Radio receiver in my car and love it. There are quite a few HD Radio channels in my area and it only seems to be expanding. As an added bonus, the separate receiver gets much better reception than the stereo by itself.
"HD Radio™ Broadcaster Licensing Fact Sheet"
2. Main Channel Audio Fees. iBiquity Digital defines the digital broadcast of the existing analog program as “Main Channel Audio.” A one time fee is paid for the rights to broadcast the Main Channel Audio. The rights to broadcast certain data associated with main channel audio (Main Channel Primary Data), such as call letters, artist/song title,
album title and program, is included in the Main Channel Audio license fee. Currently, our standard station license feeof $25,000 is being discounted through December 31, 2010 as follows:
• Stations that enclose payment with their signed contracts pay a license fee of $10,500.
• Stations that we invoice at our standard net 30 payment terms pay a license fee of $11,000.
• Stations that sign up for our 12 month payment plan terms pay a license fee of $12,500.
• This would be a “Business to Business” electronic payment, initiated by us.
• We electronically debit your business banking account monthly in 12 equal payments over 12 months
3. Supplemental Channel Audio Fees for HD-2 and Other Multicast Channels. The fee for transmitting digital audio channels (HD-2 and other multicast channels) in addition to the main channel is based on a revenue sharing model. Stations pay 3% of incremental net revenue derived from any supplemental audio services made possible with HD
Radio technology with a minimum annual fee of $1,000 per audio channel.
4. Data Fees. Any data made possible with HD Radio technology other than Main Channel Primary Data are classified as Auxiliary Data. The fee for transmitting Auxiliary Data is also based on a revenue sharing model. Stations pay 3% of incremental net revenue derived from Auxiliary Data. Payments are made on a quarterly basis.
HD Radio hardware for stations costs between $50,000 - $250,000. No one knows for sure the true cost of royalties to manufacturers, retailers, automakers, etc, but Mark Ramsey is very reputable, as there are royalties to include HD Radio:
"U.S. automakers not jumping into HD Radio"
"The radios are estimated to cost about $45 each to install, or each of the three carmakers about $150 million to $200 million annually, automotive industry sources said."
I just looked more closely at the diagrams and patent - this is only describing an "accessory" like the Gigaware, so what's the big deal? It's not built-in HD Radio! LOL!
"The Internet is full of half-truths that people don't bother to check out. The patent application under discussion was filed February 19, 2009. It clearly describes an accessory to a media player. This disclosure relates generally to radio transmissions, and more specifically to RF tuner accessories that communicate with a media player such as a portable media device. It is a follow-on patent application to HD Tagging in an RF Tuner Accessory, by the same inventors, filed December 14, 2008. That's iTunes tagging -- the radio receiver accessory and the iPhone/iPod PMD. iTunes tagging in actual hardware was introduced in January 2008 at MacWorld, and you have a year to file the patent after the first public enabling disclosure. What the later patent concerns is enhanced modes of interaction between the accessory and the PMD. It's already on the shelf. It's iTunes tagging."
Comments
I wouldn't be surprised if the iPod touch gets the radio first. We already know it's gonna get a camera (or two) and the gyro.
Well, now that it has the gyro, it should be possible to use your iPhone as a wireless controller.
Sweet, so I can drive my car with my iPhone!? AWESOME
I agree that a proprietary and royalty ridden standard shouldn't have been approved by the FCC. But it is here and it really kicks ass for some people. True, it needs more power and bandwidth to be allocated to the digital simulcast, but it already works flawlessly in some areas. For instance, my clock radio/alarm, morning shower radio, and car radio all function flawlessly. I really enjoy the local news, sports, and BBC news on digital radio.
If apple can negotiate a good licensing contract, it would make sense as a why not feature. Enough people would use it were it available. It just has to be cheap.
Edit:
Emergency radio would also be a cool why not feature. Broadcast radio is far more reliable after natural disasters.
HD Radio was one of Microsoft's main selling points of the Zune HD, the portable media player that the Redmond, Wash., software giant hoped to position against Apple's industry leading iPod touch.
"Windows Phone 7 Series"
"It seems the stunning Zune HD interface was something of a trial run for the new Windows Phone 7 Series software... It is also understood that Microsoft is stipulating all phones must also include an FM radio tuner."
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/paulspain/7095
I wonder, why Microsoft decided to ditch HD Radio?
"Radio: High Deception"
"The HD Digital Radio Alliance capo Peter ?Sgt. Bilk-o? Ferrara proclaimed his planted tale to be a sign that Steve Jobs was essentially endorsing HD Radio. In reality, he wanted his latest fabrication to spread to the mainstream press. It didn?t."
http://gormanmediablog.blogspot.com/...deception.html
Deja vu?
Wow, a couple people here have a serious vendetta against digital radio.
I agree that a proprietary and royalty ridden standard shouldn't have been approved by the FCC. But it is here and it really kicks ass for some people.
Except that neither of those two people has actually shown any proof that there are high royalties for HD Radio. One had a link to an article from 2007 that speculated that licensing was $50 per device but provided no real evidence or reliable source. I can't remember if it was the same article or another they linked to that said that it was expensive for radio stations to upgrade to HD (shocking, upgrading to new technology is expensive
I have an HD Radio receiver in my car and love it. There are quite a few HD Radio channels in my area and it only seems to be expanding. As an added bonus, the separate receiver gets much better reception than the stereo by itself.
Next up: Apple re-patents the toilet seat.
The iPood...?
Wow, a couple people here have a serious vendetta against digital radio.QUOTE]
"Radio: High Deception"
"The HD Digital Radio Alliance capo Peter ?Sgt. Bilk-o? Ferrara proclaimed his planted tale to be a sign that Steve Jobs was essentially endorsing HD Radio. In reality, he wanted his latest fabrication to spread to the mainstream press. It didn?t."
http://gormanmediablog.blogspot.com/...deception.html
Deja vu?
what's your point? That apple shouldn't include a technology because some other company chose a deceptive name?
I agree that the term HD radio is deceptive. Perhaps you missed the fact that I purposefully referred to it as digital radio rather than HD radio in my post. Go to avs forums and check out my tyraid on the subject. I've been one of the most vocal critics of the HD radio moniker.
But the name has no bearing on whether apple should include it as a feature.
If its real HD and its done right this could be a nice option.
does it really have to be HD?
While not HD, it still abounds quite good. Good as in like a relatively good aac audio file, not good as in dts ma, dvda, or sacd.
Except that neither of those two people has actually shown any proof that there are high royalties for HD Radio. One had a link to an article from 2007 that speculated that licensing was $50 per device but provided no real evidence or reliable source. I can't remember if it was the same article or another they linked to that said that it was expensive for radio stations to upgrade to HD (shocking, upgrading to new technology is expensive
I have an HD Radio receiver in my car and love it. There are quite a few HD Radio channels in my area and it only seems to be expanding. As an added bonus, the separate receiver gets much better reception than the stereo by itself.
"HD Radio™ Broadcaster Licensing Fact Sheet"
2. Main Channel Audio Fees. iBiquity Digital defines the digital broadcast of the existing analog program as “Main Channel Audio.” A one time fee is paid for the rights to broadcast the Main Channel Audio. The rights to broadcast certain data associated with main channel audio (Main Channel Primary Data), such as call letters, artist/song title,
album title and program, is included in the Main Channel Audio license fee. Currently, our standard station license feeof $25,000 is being discounted through December 31, 2010 as follows:
• Stations that enclose payment with their signed contracts pay a license fee of $10,500.
• Stations that we invoice at our standard net 30 payment terms pay a license fee of $11,000.
• Stations that sign up for our 12 month payment plan terms pay a license fee of $12,500.
• This would be a “Business to Business” electronic payment, initiated by us.
• We electronically debit your business banking account monthly in 12 equal payments over 12 months
3. Supplemental Channel Audio Fees for HD-2 and Other Multicast Channels. The fee for transmitting digital audio channels (HD-2 and other multicast channels) in addition to the main channel is based on a revenue sharing model. Stations pay 3% of incremental net revenue derived from any supplemental audio services made possible with HD
Radio technology with a minimum annual fee of $1,000 per audio channel.
4. Data Fees. Any data made possible with HD Radio technology other than Main Channel Primary Data are classified as Auxiliary Data. The fee for transmitting Auxiliary Data is also based on a revenue sharing model. Stations pay 3% of incremental net revenue derived from Auxiliary Data. Payments are made on a quarterly basis.
http://www.ibiquity.com/i/Licensing_...et_2010A_2.pdf
HD Radio hardware for stations costs between $50,000 - $250,000. No one knows for sure the true cost of royalties to manufacturers, retailers, automakers, etc, but Mark Ramsey is very reputable, as there are royalties to include HD Radio:
"U.S. automakers not jumping into HD Radio"
"The radios are estimated to cost about $45 each to install, or each of the three carmakers about $150 million to $200 million annually, automotive industry sources said."
http://tinyurl.com/o8zaau
Of course, Ford is an investor in iNiquity.
I'd love to have radio on an iPod Touch!
"Apple to Jump on the HD Train?"
"The Internet is full of half-truths that people don't bother to check out. The patent application under discussion was filed February 19, 2009. It clearly describes an accessory to a media player. This disclosure relates generally to radio transmissions, and more specifically to RF tuner accessories that communicate with a media player such as a portable media device. It is a follow-on patent application to HD Tagging in an RF Tuner Accessory, by the same inventors, filed December 14, 2008. That's iTunes tagging -- the radio receiver accessory and the iPhone/iPod PMD. iTunes tagging in actual hardware was introduced in January 2008 at MacWorld, and you have a year to file the patent after the first public enabling disclosure. What the later patent concerns is enhanced modes of interaction between the accessory and the PMD. It's already on the shelf. It's iTunes tagging."
http://tinyurl.com/2dckcj6
Another HD Radio hoax, like they tried to pull two ears ago - LMFAO!!!